Return to Eden

the photos I nearly forgot!

2006-10-17T02:32:00.000+01:00

A chilling shot I took in Tuol Sleng (former Khmer Rouge S-21 prison), genocide museum, Cambodia.
warnings.....
a flash packers paradise! James Bond Island? its famous for one of the bond movies!

The last leg, safe and sound.

2006-10-17T01:51:00.000+01:00

It seemed that every where we traipsed around the countryside terrorists were on our tail! From a tourist bus blowing up in Turkey one week after we departed, to bombs going off in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt- while we were asleep on the beach in Dahab because it was so hot in the flat. The London bombings happened before we even arrived. In Phuket there was an altercation with a man and an iguana. Yes I, Animal Activist Acey started it because I did not want my photo taken with an animal that should be in the jungle not on some blokes shoulder. He was trying to get a reaction (which he did) then went away, ditched the iguana and got his mate, because he knew the police force does not entirely favour the farang and there may have been some extra cash (i.e. ours) in his and his mates pocket at the end of it. Never mind the fact that it is illegal to have in your possession a wild animal in Thailand This, the night before we left Thailand may have been the cause of the Military coup on the streets of Bangkok I am not entirely sure. It is official we were the last plane out on that fateful night! There was a look of worry in our eyes… It’s been so long since we have been home – so close yet so far! We did it all in some sort of flash packer* style and kept the parents nerves on edge. Never the less we managed to stay safe thoughout it all. I still refuse to live in fear. I will see what I want to see. I have written a letter to the King of Thailand, The new Prime Minister and the main Thailand Tourist Associations about the state of things over there. I had it translated into Thai by Siri who lives in Phuket. I hope it makes some sort of an impact. It’s all about education over there, not just the kids and the locals but also the tourists. We are just as responsible as they are. If you want to read what I penned to them let me know I can send it to you or perhaps I will place it on the blog. I am patiently waiting for a reply from them. I will let you know. I am also about to pen my letter about the bears in Cambodia, watch you inbox soon. I will save the world, or at least make it a safer place for us, the environment and the animals, with a lot of help from my friends. I have finally succumbed to the fact that I can not do it alone!

Hey now don’t get me wrong it has not been all bad; we have seen some great sights – Sitting on Angkor Wat to watch the sunset and dreading the decent back down the steep stairs; on to the Eiffel Tower, the crazy prices and the waiting to go up it and see the view. We are now experienced in some fantastic culture- Buddha is watching over us, to three months of comprehending and living with the Muslim faith, then listening to church bells ring out and on and on in Austria, Croatia and Italy, Catholics! No-one could say we are religiously blind.
Food culture has been phenomenal- Turkey by far has the best tomatoes and spices in the world, Egyptian fare; nothing to write home about but it would keep you alive for a few days if you were starving! King chicken was probably the best in Dahab, as well as the seafood that probably swam past us while we were diving that day! HHHMMMM moral issues arise again!
Italian, True Italian oh yeah, mama mia! The restaurant we found in Naples owned and run by Nona and Poppa, fighting (throwing pans and lots of yelling) in the kitchen as they made our dinner, must have been a love fight cause damn that was good food. The local wine from the same restaurant- a bucket (well, ok a large carafe!) full to the brim for 6 Euros! Take me back there any day! Austrian’s love their speck noodle with sauerkraut, to the Mother Country of good ole fish and chips and a traditional Sunday roast either at the P.A. or the Paddenburgs. While in Scotland (and Thailand, strangely) we sampled haggis, We both are still not that keen on it.
Crepes in Paris that were more of a meal than a snack, of all things in France Korean BBQ?! Some really good ice-cream there also! Eating horse pate at a Sicilian wedding, now that was morally challenging! Good food and good times in Croatia and we were defiantly not hungry in Hungary. That of course leads me to Asian food! Most definite this is my favourite from anywhere, we found a great small restaurant in Karon, Phuket; The Red Onion, David still knows his favourite #63a from there Duck Red Curry.
So here we are, finding ourselves back on common (yet very dry) ground of the best country in the world (just don’t tell anyone OK?!) Australia. And oh how we love it! And oh how we need to preserve this great mix of culture; without becoming to like another large mass of land, America.
It’s been a whirl wind since we arrived back, organising my house to live in, catching up with people and still many to catch up with. I am getting there I promise! David is already back at work and I am searching and applying, maybe even looking into doing some writing on the side as well as trying to save the world, I will see what eventuates!
It’s been real people. I have really enjoyed keeping my blog and everyone up to date with where we were and what we were doing. Getting feedback from you while we were overseas and now that we have finally returned has been a real boost.
Oh yeah, if you want to blame anyone for us being overseas for so long you have to blame Marty and Lou, we had to go to the wedding as we were so close!
I have not put up a whole heap of photos, as being that we are back at my little shack in the bush we are forced to resort to dinosaur dial up on the internet! But please see below.
If you are a future employer who has taken the time to look at this I hope you have enjoyed and you give me a job! Also chack out my peice on Cambodia, its one of my favorites for several different reasons. Its in the archives around the 08.01.2006 - 08.31.2006. Yes, American date not ny choice but does it automatically.

* Flash packer, commonly known as a backpacker yet has mobile phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, miles of power cords, maybe even a laptop and blatantly refuses to stay at flea infested hostels!

Dogs of the Soi to our hotel!

2006-10-17T01:39:00.000+01:00

Sheera from one of the bars, He ( yes he) was a bit stupid and naughty but he looks nice!
Ting Tong (hee hee) now she was a darling!
Vodka the male tomcat who was a beast and very noisy Sophie the old girl, another darling!

2006-10-17T01:32:00.000+01:00

getting organised for the big tin bird flight home! At my house eating breaky with the darling woofie Chilly. ahhh normality!

Sun Bears

2006-09-07T12:19:00.000+01:00

Hey there! These are a few pictures of some beautiful sun bears. I got the pictures from the net. I will be writing an email about them soon. Watch your in-box, its important.

Images from ASIA

2006-09-07T12:10:00.000+01:00

Not much for work safety around here.............
Aut and me A lone seller on the beach of Lamai just before the storm hit.

2006-09-07T12:03:00.000+01:00

me and a fruit shake The Royal Palace in Bangkok, note the military presence on either side!

The infamous "Buisey" of Lamai Beach, Koh Samui, asleep under the table on the verandah of our bungalow. Big Buddha

Images from the wats in Angkor

2006-09-07T11:48:00.000+01:00

Cambodian girl inside the wat.
Sandstone goes through amazing color changes through out the day. The art work is just sensational.

2006-09-07T11:39:00.000+01:00

A large old tree on an even older building Is my bum as big as theirs? DON"T ANSWER THAT!!!!!!!!!!! unless its nice of course!

Daveo goes exploring.............

Posers.........

2006-09-07T11:33:00.000+01:00

being cool..............
being silly......... me and my Krama at Angkor Thom
The gate to Angkor Wat... or Thom I forget!

2006-09-07T11:29:00.000+01:00

another tree just trying to get along
and the wats still get used for religious purposes.

Naga the 7 headed serpent .

2006-09-07T11:25:00.000+01:00

All around the wat towers............

2006-09-07T06:14:00.000+01:00

2006-09-07T06:10:00.000+01:00

A monk outside Angkor Thom

217 stone faces of Jayavarman the 7th staring out around you...

2006-09-07T06:08:00.000+01:00

Angkor Wat

Wild monkeys

2006-09-07T06:03:00.000+01:00

David upon the high points of Angkor Wat, me (in blue) waiting below because the guard ( just near me also sitting) said it was CLOSED, time to go home!!!!! We had managed to convince him just to let D up to take a photo.

Cambodian Khmers

2006-08-25T09:03:00.000+01:00

Cambodia + versus -,
POSITIVE~ The grandeur of religious building's one of which is the largest in the world.
NEGATIVE~ A history of disturbing violence, The killing Fields and the S-21.
POSITIVE~ Buddhism
NEGATIVE~ An estimate of 2 -3 million people murdered during the height of the war. From a population of 8 million.
POSITIVE~ Amazing food.
NEGATIVE~ A country of landmines, people with devastating stories of the past and allot with the physical scars to prove it.
POSITIVE~ Tolerant people with happy faces. NEGATIVE with some sense of underlying sadness.
POSITIVE~ Rice paddie fields EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!
NEGATIVE~ Drug abuse, child abuse, leaders betraying the people is complete corruption on the highest scale.
POSITIVE~ Monkeys that are wild and are free to roam, yet un-fearful of humans.
NEGATIVE~ Lack of concern for rubbish- rotting directly in the streets and in the water. Ha! they would not even consider the environmental impact they have on the world, they just don't care.
POSITIVE NEGATIVE??~ 2 Prime ministers and a king! not sure if this is good or bad!
POSITIVE NEGATIVE~ A war that only finished in 1999.
So as a result from all of this- the attitude is live for today and not for tomorrow.
Too many tuk tuks not enough tourists.
Desperate to make a dollar.... American that is.

We arrived in Siem Reap from Bangkok and were taken aback by the amount of people begging on the streets.
We were freaked out by "Duke" on the first night as he came up to us with arms stretched toward us, pleading for some money. Well, he would have, if he had any. We had no change at all so averted our eyes and walked past. We made a pact that night (in the safety of our air conditioned motel room -$8 per night) to accentuate the positives and to give money to the landmine victims and buy the kids food or drink.* We have also made a point of eating at restaurants that support street kids and rehabilitate them back into society with more skills to have a better life. We have donated food to orphanages; well, I am going there later so by the time you read this it will be done.
The government here does nothing to support these people as there is no welfare system at all.
We saw Duke again the next night and spoke to him and gave him a generous sum to cope with our averted eyes the previous night. As a 13 year old child (he is now 40) he was playing in the fields near his home of Battambang, where he found a land mine. He lost both arms from above the elbows, has huge scars across his body. But he seems happy enough. We met others who have one or two legs missing, and some who have all four gone. To a boy who was working at the War museum who really do not know how old they are as the rest of their family has been wiped out. it really shows the atrocities of war in its rawest form.
* Allot of the time kids beg for money to then give it to their boss who supplies them with only one thing, Glue. No clothing, food or shelter, they just have to make money for the man and they get their fix. Its really really sad. They use baby's to help with the extraction of money. Some Kids, yes I am talking 6 years and upwards; said they wanted powder formula for the baby, maybe some of them used it, maybe some of them sold it back to the store after I was gone. Who knows? I don't, but at least i tried to do the right thing..... yeah here I go again trying to save the world etc etc.

Anyhow, the Wat's were amazing. Really good to see that they have attempted to clear out the jungle and rebuild parts of them. To powerful to accurately describe, but they we majestic and STEEP! And yes hoping once back in Thailand I may be able to get some photos up.
I had my hair put in corn rows while in Thailand, as it was much cooler and easier to manage. People on the streets thought I was a bit of a novelty. Actually it wasn't just me, they stared at David also. Yes, yes, here comes the freak show!, nothing new there for me. Although it was new for Dave, yeah, it pretty much freak him out! A wander through Battambang Park felt like a celebrity walk on the red carpet in Hollywood! Smiling, waving, greeting the people... strange.
While we were at Angkor Wat we saw a group of monkeys grazing on the edge of the forest, so we went down to watch them for a while. After 10 minutes or so they wandered over to us. A couple of them were only little a little smaller than the size of your forearm- wrist to elbow. They decided that my hair braids were pretty cool and began playing with them and trying to eat the beads off the ends of them. One also grabbed my upper arm (very soft little hands) and began "kneading" it then looked up into my eyes, turned his head on the side and proceeded to attempt to take a bite!!!!!! David thought this was hilarious, unfortunately I did not.

While in Battambang - pronounced Batt-thom-bong - we did a Khmer cooking class. The trip to the market was an eye opener- You name it it was there for sale. Fish jumping out of small boxes trying to escape. Watching as they bash the fish on the head to half kill it then de-scale it. The underlying violence is still prevalent today. The cooking class was really good, we learnt a few new tricks - aside from how to kill a fish Khmer style! The only two downers we had was that everything we made was out of control spicy. All six of us couldn't finish our food! the other was that I watched 8- 10 kids sniff glue across the road the whole morning. But the upside was that our left overs went to the kids and so they didn't bother us for money when we left. Maybe that's why our food was so spicy??? We made 2 new friends Alex & Nick from Hamilton in N.Z. and hope to catch up with them on the snowfields one day. We caught a bus to Phnom Penh with them and had drinks and dinner that night. We stay at the Okay guesthouse which is more than that- its cool as! Internet, restaurant and good guys working here. Of course all waiters here freelance as a tuk tuk drivers (or maybe its the other way around!) so that makes for convenience for us and them!

The first day Map took us to the Tuol Sleng Museum or as it was know during the war S-21. It used to be an old high school. The Khmer Rouge now deny it existed. Where they believe (they have founds loads of records/confessions and photos) 20,000 men, women and children were imprisoned, tortured for confessions and eventually murdered. They mainly picked out anyone who was educated, lawyers doctors, teachers and anyone to do with the military. The kids were re-trained into killing machines, oh sorry, I meant guards. An Australian died here to you know, I believe he was a journalist. I can't explain to you why this happened, but I cried for the thousands lost. I could go on for a long time about the things that happened in this horrible place along with the other things that happened at the Killing Fields itself, but I feel it is to morbid. they have a large memorial set up there at the killing fields full of skulls, bones and clothes from the mass graves they uncovered there. It is truly gut wrenching and yes you can still see pieces of bone and clothing sticking out of the ground, remember it was only 30 years ago. I was 2 when it "ended". The really war did not end until 1999 according to the Cambodians. check out this if you want to know some more, or refresh your memory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War
Pol Pot was a pure evil person and I am quiet happy to say that he is dead, but unfortunately he died of natural causes and was never brought to justice.

I guess you call this a POSITIVE in a strange way- Now that there is not so much warring going on over here that a heap of shooting ranges have opened up. Before we went to the killing fields we took a side track to a range. For a (smallish) fee you can shoot pretty much any gun/ pistol you can think of, especially if it was made in Korea, Russia or America. Even a bazooka thingy!- but I tell you if there had of been any mention of blowing up cows, Acey would have been swinging punches- army dudes or not!!! That's just not right. It clearly states on the "menu" that you are not permitted to take a photo of it! bugger! So Daveo went for an AK-47 It was VERY loud! I think he had 20 shots, doing single ones first and then rapid for the last. Man what a noise! I took video and photos and he was allowed to keep the target paper he shot. A large grin on the face of Daveo puts this as being a positive! Although map asked us not to tell anyone that we went there - purely for the reason that he would have to pay off someone else. Desperate to keep every dollar for themselves. Fair enough.

Yesterday we strolled around the grounds of the Royal Palace where there is a Silver Pagoda. The whole floor is silver tiles (very cool) With two Buddhas, one is emerald- well its jade really and the other is gold with 2086 diamonds and rubies encrusted in it.
The rain is amazing it comes usually at 2.30 every day and really pours down its great! The locals get out in it and shower wash hair clothes that they are wearing the works its quiet funny to watch!
- Thats enough mayhem hey?! OK so that's all for this war torn exotic country that's slowly picking up its feet and trying to carry on and get its head above water. And there is allot of water around.
Its been hot, beautiful, really heart wrenching and oh so REAL.

Oh yeah its official we will be departing Bangkok at midnight on the 20th of September so that means.........
Back in Melbourne on the 20th, 12 noon! Do I need to say we expect some sort of welcoming party, even if it is a Wednesday! You have enough notice!

Koh Samui

2006-08-15T10:03:00.000+01:00

Ok so I had nearly finished this post when the computer I am working on packed up AAAARRRRGGGHHH How frustrating. I will be ctrl and C More often this time!
Ok so I start again......
Sawadee Kaaa!
Our first couple of days were in Bangkok recovering from jetlag. Which we didn't do too well. As the story goes........ We arrived in BKK at 5am, got ripped off with the cab... Yes Karla, we did listen to you; but no sleep makes for stooopid farang (stupid forigner). Then we got to the Khao san palace inn and a room was not available until 10am. "Ok, lets go to that pub across the road" drink 4 LARGE Singha beers, and then wander around drunkly until 3am!! Oh dear! Anyhow once we had recovered; we found that Gerry was in town on biz, so more beer flowed our way! I must say that Gerry looks very similar to the King of Thailand.... I will post a photo of one of them and you can guess! Sorry Gerry!! Actually no I'm not!
We find ourselves on Koh Samui in monsoon season, its fun, relaxing and wet! So between spending short amounts of time on the beach and then running for cover on our verandah, we have read a fair amout of books! David has said that he is on the border line of boredom with reading!?! Strange creature!
I have to say that we have managed to steer clear of the buckets! For those who don't know its Samsong whiskey and red bull or coke! Yes that's right in a bucket! Messy.... I know that some who have been to Thailand before may be disappointed to hear this, but my liver is very happy thank you very much!
I have caught up with the people that Brownie, Karen and I stayed with when we were last here. Aot- the waiter, has not changed an inch! And squealed with delight when he saw me!! He even has the same old motorbike! He has just moved to Mae Nom on the NW coast.
Duane and Meeh also the same same, but living out of Lamai central. Lucky (the dog) was not so.... If you get my drift! Not long after we left last time; which was four years ago!! But very happy to say that SoongSam is still kicking around. Yes, he still stinky and still try to fight other dogs but has no teeth left!! They make soft food for him. But he is still a darlin, even if he does stink!
But it has not be all relaxing... No, no, no! We have done a days work and been to school! What???? I hear you say!? Let me explain.... The amount of stray dogs (and cats) on the island is truly sad. I know this is a problem all over Thailand. Most of them get by just fine. But lucky for those that do not, a German couple has set up the Dog Rescue Centre Samui (DRCS). They have two branches these days, one in Chawaeng and the other in Ban Taling Ngam. Anyhow, we spent a day volunteering at the one in Chawaeng. We washed and defleaed about 30 dogs! There was probably about 40 dogs altogether, some knew what we were doing and did not want to come near us, others just loved the attention! It was a little sad for some of them - we named one tripod - and another one dicky knee; you'll work it out. At least 6 of them had been severely run over by a car at some stage, having the physical scars to prove it. But you know what? They got around like there was no really problem at all, and they were happy! They knew that they would get a meal that night and hope fully not have to fight to much for that food. There was a real pecking order, and one of the less abled was strait in there when din-dins came! Check out their website above, - Soon there will be a photo of us washing a woofie on there also!!! (They said they are updating it soon.) I don't know what to tell you, but these people do amazing things for these helpless voiceless animals. They do not get support from the government and WSPA (worldwide- RSPCA) does not give them any money either. They rely on the generosity of good people. I know that there are places like this in Aust; but if you could see how most of these dogs live and are treated when they are not in the shelter, well it just breaks my heart. If you can afford it- sponsor a dog or cat, or donate some money, if you come here on holidays give them a hand! If not for the dogs and cats think of the good Karma it will bring you.
http://www.samuidog.org/

The schooling we did was an afternoon cooking class at Siam Kitchens. It was great fun, a class of four, a tour around the local market in Lamai. Cooking and eating the rewards. We now both have a certificate in 4 Thai dishes! Watch my house for dinner parties!!! And watch out Clarky, we also know now, how to make Scream Your Head Off Soup A.K.A. Tom Yum Soup!
We also managed (under protest from me) to semi adopt a hound just for a few days. Black and brown, mongral, 50% hound 25% aboriginal - likes walkabout! And 20% king of the beach 5% pure faithful. Who was hanging around the streets and beach in Lamai where we stayed. David named him Bruiser as it looked as if he had been in a few scraps. But fairly sure he is quiet able to hold his own as he seems to be king pin on the beach area. He was a very nice dog and very protective of me, no motorbike or Thai man was safe with Bruisy by my side! Oh Dear! But of course we had to leave. Bruisy would sleep on the verandah of our bungalow after being feed a couple of nights in a row, (again under some form of protest from me- "But I don't want him to rely on us because we are going!" "Oh but he is so cute and faithful I cant let him go hungry and ransack the rubbish bins." How do say torn between a rock and a hard place! Anyhow I have faith in the fact that he has survived without us up until now, and I am sure he will for along time to come. But I am going to send the DRCS an email about him and see if they can keep an eye on him.
I am still trying to resign myself to the fact that I can't save everyone and every living thing, but I will give it a good go!
So now we have found ourselves back in stinky Bangkok on Khao San Road. Nearly as bad as Soongsam.... I said nearly! Headiing to Cambodia tonight!!!!!

Wedding of the year!

2006-08-11T13:26:00.000+01:00

Sexy bitches...................................................................................................... sorry every person who is offended by my language!!!!!

The Croatian countryside and 3 sexy girls..... oh yeah and Dave!

2006-08-11T13:24:00.000+01:00

Babes hangin off the back of a paddle boat! in Croatia

2006-08-11T13:20:00.000+01:00

Croatia

2006-08-11T13:17:00.000+01:00

Budapest and Vienna

2006-08-11T13:14:00.000+01:00

Bangkok and surrounds!

2006-08-11T13:05:00.000+01:00

A Sicilian, Aussie and Pommie wedding short and sweet version!

2006-07-06T22:00:00.000+01:00

A longer version comes later! i.e. photos hopefully from Thailand the last stretch home, lets hope we can do that with the money also.
Wow what a week! It was just amazing to catch up with alot of the crew. Good on everyone who made it over from affar, an impressive effort.
Firstly..... We watched a few of the world cup matches while in Sicily at an Irish bar. WE SO GOT ROBBED AUSTRALIA! next time
But more importantly the reason we were all there was for Matryn and Louise's Wedding week!
The parents of the bride and groom should be proud- we all ate too much- what a feast!, drank way too much (of course) and generally had a great time. It was hot, hot day and think all the blokes in suits did really well. The mayor of Taomormina was a little strange - she offically married Martyn and Louise- but was very unnoffical in her clothing? Anyhow that is the quirks of getting married in a foreign town. Lou was looking like a pure angel and marty very swarve! All the girls looked fabulous of course, I am itching to putsome photos on of us all! Of course we all partied till the late hours.
Carrie I hope your ankle/foot is Ok.
Then we found ourselves back in Rome AGAIN!!! well we hung out with the Marcho and the Koala bear (Karla). Went to a concert in the centre of town, saw the Black Eyed Peas play for FREE, nice one! Missed the last metro but still made it home safely, drunk; but safe!
Farewell to the march- hare and onward to Croatia for the three of us. We did well, on a boat full of Italians cheering on their team...... Great....
Catching up again with Kelly and Pete and making a new friend Jim. We had a really fantstic time with this lot, Island hopping on the croatian coast. Drinking, diving, sunbaking, peddle boating, towing the lilos behind it! and alot- o- relaxing! not necessarily in that order! We managed to celebrate my birthday on Aussie time as K, P& J were all leaving on my european birthday. thankyou so much for doing this it was great, to come out to a table that was adorned with Tom & Jerry table cloth and hats , balloons etc. I loved it THANKYOU and the icecream cake- yum!
So then there was three... again.
We headed up to Budapest, bus & train, finding some really bad accomodation and then the next day finding something heaps better. Its offical we are the worst backpackers in the world! We are both too old for dorm beds! hee hee!
Budapest was a little dissapointing as I was expecting it to be like Prague, in its beauty. but it must have been heavily bombed during the war (oopppss not supposed to mention that!) because the buildings were very average. We decided on a walking tour, which was great and informed us on some stuff we would have not otherwise known. One afternoon we went to the thermal baths had a massage and relaxed around the outside pool; until we'd had enough which was around 8pm. The side we came in on had been closed off so we headed for the alternate exit. Our cards went Bong and not BEEP! and we were told to stand on the side and wait for the administrator/ interpretor. She came along and informed us that we had over stayed our time, yet we still had the right to use of the outside pool. We just should have exited through the door we entered. We were going to have to pay 600 florins to exit (it cost us 2000 to get in) Anyhow long story short we claimed we had no money, no credit cards no passport, one big guy got all by the book and decided to call the police! Remember this is all over the fact we came in the wrong door! ( a definate scam if you ask me) We wandered down stairs a little bemused at this point when he really did call the cops! Are you serious???!!! Then Karla turned to me and said "Do you wanna just like ... GO?!" sure so we did told them we were going to wait upstairs and promtly wandered out under the barrier and out of the reach of Mr. By the book man! Ha Ha !!!! Was good source of amusment to us for the next few hours! We had wanted to go back the next day and hang out, but I figured I am way to easily recognizable! Returning to the scene of the crime (??????) was unlikely.
Karla took off the next day back to London and we took off to Vienna the day after this. Thats where we are now, its dang hot, we depart tomorrow for Bangkok, yes finally people we are making our way home!
Vienna has been nice apart from the heat and we just been bummin around seeing lots of Klimt, H. R. Giger and Kunst haus- which some of you will get postcards from! Till then an asian experience coming up! TTFN